The winner of the Devine Gardens quarterly drawing is L.G. from Dewitt. She has chosen a 16 quart box of vermicompost.
The winner of the Garden Goodies Basket Raffle was won by T.P. from Brookfield.
I’ve had a lot of positive comments about the bagged super compost mix. People are using it to improve the soil structure in gardens and raised beds and also add in all the benefits of the vermicompost. The super mix will be good to use this fall for planting perennials, shrubs and trees also.
I will be selling mums at the Fayetteville Farmers market starting next week. I have been growing them in a mix of vermicompost, my compost, peat moss and perlite. The market is open on Thursdays from noon to six. I am also selling herbs. What a great way to showcase my compost!
Betty had another heifer calf on June 6th. Her name is Pippi, short for Pip Squeak. She is black with lighter grey colors on her underside. I think that the grey is baby calf hair and she will eventually be all black. Pippi is very healthy and growing quickly. It helps that she is with her mom so she can eat whenever she wants to. She also eats the grass just like the bigger cows do. All of the cows are enjoying the fresh grass.
The perimeter fencing is done!! The cows are cleaning up along the creek; eating grass, whatever weeds they like and leaves on bushes and trees. Next they will be moved over into the new pasture. First, they will be grazing the wet, brushy area that isn’t used for hay. After second cutting of hay they will be able to graze the hay fields as we rotate them around the land. We shouldn’t have to feed them baled hay until the snow covers the ground which will save some money. Also, the cows prefer to graze – it’s what they naturally do.
The 4 chickens and their chicken coop are inside of electric portable fencing near the house. There have been no attacks by foxes or any other wild animal so far, thank goodness. They are a nice group of chickens. They make chicken noises to get my attention for me to feed them. They are charming.
The plastic black and white panda film under the tomatoes is definitely keeping the weeds down but I really don’t care for it. The plastic is brittle and tears easily. I’ll only be able to get one year out of a $30.00 investment so I don’t think it was worth it. I didn’t plant my seeds until July 2nd so my garden is behind. One thing that I really like about planting so late is that the weather and soil was so warm everything germinated in about a week and has just kept growing so fast. I should be getting some green beans, cucumbers and beets in about a week or so.
Tyler and Alicia’s wedding on June 11th was beautiful. The weather also made it very eventful. First we were fighting the wind and rain to keep the tent up on Thursday. On Friday night there was a tornado watch. Saturday morning started out cold and rainy. By the beginning of the reception the sun was coming out and after a beautiful sunset the stars shone brightly. The guests enjoyed seeing Farmer Bob’s cows. Only a few of them talked about riding the bulls and none of them actually did try. We even had to spread some hay on the driveway under the tent to sop up some muddy spots, so the reception definitely had a country feel.
I hope that you have a lovely rest of the summer and enjoy the fall weather when it comes (but not too soon).
